Akshaye Khanna: I don’t want to associate with every film

Akshaye Khanna says it wasn’t a conscious decision not to sign too many films, adding that he can’t think of associating himself with anything and everything

“It’s not that I avoid signing many films in a year but, yes, I don’t want myself to associate with anything and everything,” said Akshaye, whose forthcoming film Gali Gali Chor Hai is releasing this Friday.“Gali Gali… happened because the script attracted me and I didn’t stop myself from giving the nod to the movie. It was a spontaneous decision and now I can confidently admit that this role is so far my best role. People from the lower middle class to high officials will relate to my character, who is a middle-class family man. This is what makes this role one of the benchmarks in my career,” added the actor who was last seen in Farah Khan’s directorial venture Tees Maar Khan.

The theme of Gali Gali Chor Hai is corruption in the Indian system. However, the actor claims there is hardly any scope for such illegal practices in filmdom. “In today’s time, there is no place where corruption is not prevalent, but I feel proud to be part of an industry where there is no scope for corruption. We wake up, go to work, finish it off and then come back…where is the time to think about shortcuts?” Akshaye said.

The movie grabbed headlines when Anna Hazare, who has been pioneering the anti-corruption movement in the country, watched Gali Gali Chor Hai. “Since I always keep a low profile and avoid getting into limelight, I feel fortunate enough in not being part of any corruption-related issue,” he added.

In the movie, the problem of corruption is told through the eyes of bank cashier Bharat, played by Akshaye, who accidentally gets caught in the corrupt system and the more he tries to wriggle out, the deeper he sinks into it. While Momukshu Mudgal has penned the story, Rumi Jafri has helmed the project, which also has Shriya Saran, Mugdha Godse, Satish Kaushik and Annu Kapoor who will be seen taking the story forward. The 36-year-old has films like Taal, Border, Dil Chahta Hai, Hungama, Hulchul, Gandhi – My Father and Race to his credit. His next will be Chand Bhai with Vidya Balan.